


Of All the Bars In Neverwinter

by lucretia_the_director



Series: Vaugely Interconnected Magcretia [3]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Apologies, Balance Campaign, Concealed Identity, Dancing, Drinking to Forget, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 19:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11721285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucretia_the_director/pseuds/lucretia_the_director
Summary: She’d chosen this tavern because she knew no one would think to question why a finely dressed young woman had been staring down a half empty bottle of brandy for the better part of an hour.(It had been full when she sat down.)One year, she’d told herself. One year and we’ll all be back together.(It would be empty when she left.)But, of course, of all the bars in Neverwinter,hehad to walk intothisone.





	Of All the Bars In Neverwinter

**Author's Note:**

> Magcretia if you want to squint. And, as my people know, I was definitely squinting as I wrote.

If anyone asked, they were in Neverwinter for a woodworking convention.

If anyone asked and they were to tell the truth, they were celebrating the defeat of Governor Callen by spending a week out from under the watchful eye of Julia’s father. 

The first day (and the first night and well into the second day) was spent in their room, giggling and shushing each other periodically when they were loud enough that they risked their neighbors complaining.

The second night, Julia insisted that they go dancing. 

The tavern below their room was seedy, but the music was loud and the drinks were cheap. Magnus left Julia at a table while he elbowed his way to the bar, accidentally bumping the arm of a young woman who was pouring herself another glass of alcohol from the bottle sitting in front of her.

He jostled her enough that the drink in her hand spilled onto the bar. She blinked despondently at the mess while he apologized and reached over the bar for a towel that was on the counter. Looking up at him when his hand shifted hers out of the way to get to the rest of the spilled brandy, she gasped and stared at him while he tossed the towel back to the other side of the bar and flagged down the bartender.

Her eyes burned a hole into the side of his head as he ordered and he looked at her when the bartender turned away to get the ale he’d ordered. 

“Sorry about that. I can pay for what I spilled?”

“No - No, I- No, it’s fine,” she stuttered and she smiled at him, but her teeth were tightly clenched behind her lips and she _hadn’t stopped staring at him._

He smiled back, slightly uncomfortable. “Enjoy your drink?” he offered as he took the offered mugs from the bartender and dropped his coins into the waiting hand.

“What did you say to her?” Julia asked as he set the drinks down on their table, staring past him towards the bar. “She’s staring at you like she’s seen a ghost.”

He turned around. She had spun on her stool and was watching him, like Julia said, like she had seen a ghost. She was fiddling with her necklace and clutching her drink to her chest like she was afraid of what she would do if her hands weren’t full.

She looked away, turning back to the bar when he made eye contact with her. 

(He could still feel her eyes on his back, even as he stood and extended a hand to Julia in an invitation to dance.)

_

“Maybe she recognizes you from somewhere?” Julia mused as she spun back into his arms.

“The girl at the bar?” Hands on her hips, he smiled as the song drifted into something slower and she draped her arms around his neck.

“Yeah. She seems kinda familiar? Like I met her once a long time ago.”

Spinning slowly so Julia’s back was to the bar and he could see the woman in question, he considered her briefly. She was human, maybe in her mid-twenties, with dark skin and short, white hair. She was dressed like she had expected to be somewhere far nicer (a crisp white blouse and a black skirt under a faded red robe, worn thin in a few places from wash and wear but still obviously good quality) and she was stood out like a sunbeam compared in the dark of the tavern.

And, yes, she _was_ vaguely familiar.

She was still watching him, but the look in her eyes had changed. She was softer now, gaze fond as she watched the two of them spin across the floor. She raised her glass in acknowledgment instead of turning away like she had before when she noticed he had caught her staring again. 

The music faded into a cacophonous silence as the musicians set down their instruments and the crowd protested loudly. They announced a fifteen-minute intermission and the exodus of the dance floor to the bar had the well-dressed woman retreating to a corner table that had been abandoned long ago but inaccessible due to the crowd.

Magnus followed her with his eyes as she made her way upstream through the crowd and settled at the table with her back firmly against the wall before she found him again. He waved at her purposefully, coming to a sudden decision. He whispered his intention into Julia’s ear and she smiled and kissed his cheek, sending him off and settling into a chair to rest her feet.

She finally looked away as he approached, clutching her glass tightly and smoothing down her robe as he sat across from her. 

“Do I know you?” he asked bluntly, crossing his arms on the table and leaning forwards.

Her eyes widened and she leaned back in her chair, swallowing hard. “No? I mean… why would you? We’ve never met.” She was chuckling nervously and still refusing to look at him as her face flushed red.

“You’ve been staring at me all night,” Magnus reminded her. “And not like people usually stare at me. Julia said you looked like you’d seen a ghost.”

She stared down into her drink silently for a long minute before looking up at him. “Ghost isn’t…. entirely wrong. You look just like someone I lost a long time ago.”

It was Magnus’ turn to look away and fidget. “I’m sorry. Can I ask…. How did he die?”

She smiled, a little, pained quirk of her lips that made Magnus frown. “He’s not dead,” she assured him. “He’s alive and well…. and happy, I hope.”

“Oh. Well, maybe it _is_ me. I have a very bad memory,” he joked, desperate, for some reason, to take the pained look off her face.

Her face shuttered and tears sprang to her eyes as she lifted her glass to hide her face. “No, I don’t think so,” she said hoarsely. 

He hurried to apologize but she ignored him, talking over him, seemingly without noticing. “I…. made a very big mistake a very long time ago. I lost _everyone_ that was important to me.”

“I’m sure they’d forgive you if you asked,” Magnus assured her, reaching out to cover her trembling hands with one of his.

“I don’t know about that,” she said quietly, but she did seem to take some comfort from it. “I can’t ask, though, not yet. There are…. things I need to do to fix my mistake before I can even start to apologize to them.”

They were quiet for a long moment, the woman drying her tears with one hand while Magnus held onto the other, until Julia came up behind Magnus and set her hand on his shoulder.

“Everything alright?” she asked, concerned. “I couldn’t help but notice this insensitive oaf made you cry.”

“I didn’t make her cry!” Magnus protested. 

The woman sniffled her way through a giggle and agreed. “Is this your wife? She’s lovely.”

He grinned and leaned back against Julia where she stood behind him. “My fiance, actually.”

Julia introduced herself, reaching a hand out for the woman to shake. She did, but gave no name in reply.

“I’m sure the two of you have better things to do than talk to the crazy woman who cries in the corner of the bar,” the woman said lightly as the music started back up. (They all ignored the way her voice broke and how she had to swallow hard to get the second half of her sentence out.) “You go enjoy your night.”

She nodded when Magnus asked if she was sure and waved as the pair headed back onto the dance floor.

“Wait!” she called when they were halfway onto the floor. Julia nudged his arm and they both turned.

She had shot to her feet, hands braced against the table, leaning forward intently. “Magnus, are - are you…. happy?”

“I-” He glanced at Julia, who leaned her head against his shoulder. “Yes, of course I am. I’ve got the love of my life and good music. What more could I ask for?”

“Good. That’s good.” She sat back down and there was a genuine smile on her face now. “I’m glad.”

_

“So, _did_ you know her?” Julia asked when another slow song came on and they clung to each other, just swaying.

“She said we’d never met, but….”

“But, what?” 

“I never told her my name.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lucretia-the-director)


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